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The Pros and Cons of a Nursing Career

Nursing is one of the most humane professions there are. When you choose a nursing career, you learn that there is no end to the duties which you must perform each day – often with shifts extending up to 12 or 14 hours. However, just like any other career path, there are notable pros and cons of a nursing career. It would be a good idea to weigh them when deciding whether it is the right career path for you.

The Pros of a Career in Nursing

Positively impact to patients: You will positively impact the lives of your patients and their families. Even when your patients have bad outcomes, you still can make a positive impact. This alone could be enough of a reward to go into the field.

Wide field: There are so many different areas you can work as a nurse. You can do bedside nursing in dozens of different roles, or you can do something like case management. You can go into administration, research, or even blogging.

Job security: The field of nursing has some of the best job security of any profession. If you can’t find a job in one specialty, there is always another option.

Friendly working hours: Most nurses only work 3 days a week. Most of them prefer to work a regular schedule, but this type of program does afford you the ability to get things done during the week.

Ability to grow career wise: You will constantly be challenged to grow and improve yourself. This is something that may seem difficult at first, but it will help you tremendously later in your career.

A dependable community of fellow nurses: You will have an entire community of fellow nurses. Nurses tend to stick together. They are your band of brothers or sisters. Nurses have to rely on each other from time to time. This creates a unique closeness not always found in other fields.

The Cons

Academically demanding: Nursing school is very challenging. You will have to study more than most college students.

Exposure to health hazards: There are health risks to working in the medical field. You could be exposed to any number of ailments. There are, however, a lot of resources and safeguards put in place to prevent this.

Responsibility: The position comes with a large responsibility on your part. As a nurse, you will be faced by instances requiring tough decision; some of which might land you in the court. It is advisable to take an insurance cover to help you when sued by patients or their close friends or family members.

Underpaid career: Sometimes you will feel underpaid for the work you do. Just remember the difference you are making.

Cases of understaffing: You will be understaffed most of the time. This is something you have to deal with in many fields now.

Long working hours: You will work long hours, half the time on holidays and weekends.If you are a sole nurse in a health facility, then you would have to be ready to attend to many patients a day.

Summary

Clearly, nursing is a challenging but rewarding career. Unfortunately, it’s not for everyone. If the “Pros” didn’t convince you, and the “Cons” scared you, then nursing probably isn’t for you. It takes a special person to make a good nurse.